【Elemental Weaving: Through countless spellcastings, you have glimpsed the truth of magic—all elements are essentially the same, and spells are merely fixed structures left behind by your predecessors. You have resolved to return to the elements' most primal form, using mana as your shuttle and elements as your thread to weave your own unique spell structures.】
【Elemental Temperance: Wild venting is nothing but clumsy waste; true art lies in reverence and moderation. You have resolved not to waste nature's gifts or overdraw the world's grace. Cast your spells in the most delicate and lightweight manner, gathering scattered mana to unleash the true power of your magic.】
It was hard to determine the exact effects of the specializations just from the descriptions, but she could broadly tell that one allowed her to create her own spells, while the other saved mana. Both seemed far too good to pass up!
“In that case...” Wu Yao pulled out a gold coin, flipping it back and forth between her fingers. “Heads for Weaving, tails for Temperance.”
She flipped the coin high with her thumb. It spun in a golden blur, rising and falling like a tiny asteroid of unknown destiny.
Wu Yao tilted her head back, watching the golden arc reach its peak and begin to fall.
In the split second before it landed, she suddenly thought of the Waterball that had exploded right in her face.
The choice of specialization would be a major turning point in her future gaming experience. Weaving meant free creation, while Temperance meant precise output.
She already knew what she wanted.
Slap.
She clapped her hands together, catching her spinning destiny precisely between her palms.
Without even looking at the result, she tossed the coin back into her Inventory.
【Confirming specialization choice: Elemental Weaving】
【System Notification: This specialization offers a high degree of freedom. It only provides basic theoretical instruction, and players must explore and discover specific spell structures on their own. Once confirmed, this choice cannot be changed. Please choose carefully!】
Wu Yao's eyes gleamed with excitement. Freedom was great!
【Specialization Confirmed: Elemental Weaving】
Her spell panel transformed instantly. The neatly arranged icons were wiped away as if by an invisible hand, replaced by a deep, dark void.
The first to light up in the void was the fire element, its blazing orange-red shining like an ignited star. Next, flowing deep blue wound its way in like a river of unknown origin, while a heavy ochre-yellow quietly blanketed the bottom of the void as countless points of light slowly illuminated.
They were no longer mere particles that only responded when she cast spells, but active entities existing within her perception, naturally entering her vision.
The points of light gradually wove together into a massive Circle that spun slowly before her like a cosmic star map, containing endless vastness.
Currently, the fire, water, and earth elements held the largest shares, like three major stars occupying most of the Circle's territory. At the edges, elements like wood, wind, and metal orbited like satellites, emitting a faint glow.
【Currently Available Elements: Fire (Lv. 8), Water (Lv. 6), Earth (Lv. 6), Wood (Lv. 1), Wind (Not Activated), Metal (Not Activated), Lightning (Not Activated)】
Wu Yao reached out to touch the most active orange-red fire elements. They immediately wrapped affectionately around her fingertips, rubbing all the way up to her wrist and circling it twice before dispersing.
Their warmth was as enthusiastic as ever, but her perception of them had grown much stronger.
The horde of corrupted creatures had been completely cleared out, and under her bombardment, the Cursed Forest finally fell into a brief moment of quiet.
The ground was covered with ashes, as well as the Rotten Flesh and Mana Cores dropped during the battle. Wu Yao purified them all in one go and swept them into her Inventory.
This peaceful moment provided her with the perfect opportunity to study. She placed her Moon-Silver Wood Bed on the ground, lay down comfortably, and opened the tutorial on her panel.
“A spell structure is a pre-designed mana manipulation process intended to achieve a specific magical effect in a stable, efficient, and repeatable manner.” A guiding, gentle yet powerful voice began teaching in her mind.
Wu Yao lay on the Moon-Silver Wood Bed, her eyes wide and unblinking, looking far more attentive than she ever had during any faculty curriculum meetings.
“The four core pillars of a spell structure are mana input, structural arrangement, variable adjustment, and spell manifestation. The activation of any spell structure requires mana input. The intensity, purity, and stability of the mana will all affect the final outcome of the spell. To achieve more precise mana control, one must rely on the assistance of Mental Strength...”
Mental Strength?
Wu Yao pulled up the details tab of her status panel. Among the long list of attributes, she found 【Mental Strength: 30】, with a small note next to it: (Influenced by Willpower).
Now there was yet another attribute she needed to allocate points to.
Wu Yao didn't know how good 30 Mental Strength was, but regardless, more was always better!
“Structural arrangement is the skeleton of a spell structure, determining the flow path of mana and the arrangement of elements. There are various forms of arrangement, and every Great Witch has their own unique expression. Below, we introduce three classic arrangement forms: the Magic Circle structure of Motar, the Great Witch of the Starry Night; the rune structure of Saisimi, the Great Witch of the Drifting Clouds; and the incantation structure of Vinia, the Great Witch of the Joyous Song...”
The Magic Circle structure slowly unfolded on the panel. It was composed of precise geometric shapes, with a core consisting of multiple nested hexagrams, from which over a dozen mana transmission lines of varying thicknesses radiated outward.
Wu Yao had never expected to study so seriously in a game. She could even sense a bit of science in this magical world.
When broken down, a Magic Circle mainly consisted of nodes, the core, and various pathways that constrained, transmitted, or blocked mana.
Almost instantly, she thought of vertices and edges in graph theory. The flow of mana in a Magic Circle was just like a traversal algorithm. From this perspective, the structure of the Magic Circle was clear at a glance.
Although there were many loops, those redundant circular pathways were necessary for stability. They ensured that the mana had backup paths during transmission, preventing the spell structure from collapsing due to interference on a single line.
However, if she were to pursue ultimate speed and output, she could completely eliminate these loops. As long as she was skilled enough, she wouldn't fail.
The rune structure unfolded next on the panel, resembling functions in programming. Each rune could represent a pre-defined function.
If she broke the runes down to their lowest level, she could even redefine their functions. Although she didn't yet understand the internal logic of how the runes operated, she could still call upon them directly.
The incantation structure was even more straightforward, consisting of specific syllables arranged in order. It was also very similar to programming languages, where each word was an operator and the word order was the execution order. Speaking of which, she could actually arrange elements using a programming approach...
All human tools are extensions of thought: writing extends memory, and mathematics extends reasoning.
In that case, a spell structure was simply a symbolic system that extended one's casting intent.
Elemental Weaving was the perfect opportunity for her to create her own spell structures.
This was way more fun than listening to mages babble their long-winded incantations!
Rate on N.U.
